Superintendent to meet with parents

Disaffected parents of Bear River's girls varsity basketball as well as other suspended winter athletes will meet with Nevada Joint Union High School District's Superintendent Ralf Swenson Monday, the superintendent said.

Swenson, speaking to The Union Friday, said he'll sit down with the parents on Monday at a time yet to be determined.

The furor over the girls basketball season being canceled due to a violation of the athletic code has not been lost on Swenson, who has been away at a superintendents symposium in Monterey.

While Swenson acknowledged he would be meeting a group of players' parents, he would not elaborate on their appeal or the details of their violation of the athletic code.

"We're still sort of in this process," Swenson said. "I want to respect the process and not comment on their appeal."

With Swenson's support, Bear River's administration canceled the Lady Bruins varsity basketball season Tuesday after 10 of the 11 players were found to have been at a party where alcohol was consumed at a home in Granite Bay. Four other winter sports athletes were in attendance as well. All the students slept over the house, numerous parents confirmed.

At issue is the application of the athletic code itself and whether it can be applied to what upset parents are calling an out of boundaries punishment coupled with potential civil rights violations.

"It's the violation of civil rights that I'm most concerned about," said parent Christa Cortez Thursday. "What these kids did was wrong, but it pales in comparison to what these adults and professionals did."

Swenson said he will also look into the investigation process in which cell phones were confiscated and MySpace pictures were downloaded.

"I don't know the details of the investigation," Swenson said. "There was nobody forced to do anything, (from) what I was told. I will go down and investigate that more."

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To contact Sports Writer Zuri Berry, e-mail zberry@ theunion.com or call 477-4244.